Brass Era car

The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It extends from the first commercial automobiles marketed in the 1890s until about World War I. The term "Brass Era automobile" is a retronym for "horseless carriage," the original name for such vehicles, which is still in use today.

Overview

Such very old vehicles present special challenges to today's collectors. Replacement parts must nearly always be handmade and basic documentation such as wiring diagrams and specification sheets are often nonexistent. The huge variety of companies and technologies represented during this formative period is also a complicating factor—it has been estimated that there were well over 1,000 manufacturers in the U.S. alone.

Nevertheless, an active collector community exists for these vehicles, which when well restored can be extremely valuable. The very, very rare original-condition survivor can be even more so.

The early Ford Model T is an example of a Brass Era car for the mass market, and the early European Hispano-Suiza models are fairly typical of expensive models of the time.

The gold-tone trim which is occasionally added to modern luxury sedans is a reference back to autodom's great Age of Brass.

Examples

Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine's list of U.S. automakers as of 1904

In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine catalogued the entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included the following manufacturers:

• American Darracq Automobile Company (New York, New York)
• Apperson Brothers Automobile Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
• Auburn Automobile Company (Auburn, Indiana)
• Autocar Company (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)
• Automobile Exchange and Storage Company (New York, New York)
• Baker Motor Vehicle Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Berg Automobile Company (New York, New York)
• Buffalo Electric Carriage Company (Buffalo, New York)
• Cadillac Automobile Company (Detroit, Michigan)
• Central Automobile Company (New York, New York)
• Clodio and Widmayer (New York, New York)
• Columbus Motor Vehicle Company (Columbus, Ohio)
• B. V. Covert and Company (Lockport, New York)
• Crest Manufacturing Company (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
• Daimler Manufacturing Company (Long Island City, New York)
• Duryea Power Company (Reading, Pennsylvania)
• Electric Vehicle Company (Hartford, Connecticut)
• Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company (Middletown, Connecticut)
• Elmore Manufacturing Company (Clyde, Ohio)
• Ford Motor Company (Detroit, Michigan)
• Societe Franco-Americaine d'Automobiles (New York, New York)
• H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company (Syracuse, New York)
• Fredonia Manufacturing Company (Youngstown, Ohio)
• Grout Brothers (Orange, Massachusetts)
• Haynes-Apperson Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
• Holley Motor Car Company (Bradford, Pennsylvania)
• Thos. B. Jeffery Company (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
• Kirk Manufacturing Company (Toledo, Ohio)
• Knox Automobile Company (Springfield, Massachusetts)
• Locomobile Company of America (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
• National Motor Vehicle Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• National Sewing Machine Company (Belvidere, Illinois)
• Northern Manufacturing Company (Detroit, Michigan)
• Olds Motor Works (Detroit, Michigan)
• Packard Motor Car Company (Detroit, Michigan)
• Panhard-Levassor (Paris, France)
• Peerless Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Phelps Motor Vehicle Company (Stoneham, Massachusetts)
• George N. Pierce Company (Buffalo, New York)
• Pope-Robinson Company (Hyde Park, Massachusetts)
• Pope-Toledo Company (Toledo, Ohio)
• Pope-Waverly Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• Premier Motor Manufacturing Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• Renault (New York, New York)
• Rochet-Schneider (New York, New York)
• Royal Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Sandusky Automobile Company (Sandusky, Ohio)
• K. A. Skinner (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Smith and Mabley (New York, New York)
• St. Louis Motor Carriage Company (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Standard Automobile Company of New York (New York, New York)
• Stanley Motor Carriage Company (Newton, Massachusetts)
• F. B. Stearns Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company (Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts)
• Studebaker Brothers Company (South Bend, Indiana)
• E. R. Thomas Motor Company (Buffalo, New York)
• Waltham Manufacturing Company (Waltham, Massachusetts)
• White Sewing Machine Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Wilson Automobile Manufacturing Company (Wilson, New York)
• Winton Motor Carriage Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Woods Motor Vehicle Company (Chicago, Illinois)

Fred H. Colvin's list of U.S. automakers as of 1917

Fred H. Colvin, who covered the American automotive industry for many years as a journalist and editor of trade journals, wrote in his memoir (1947) about his experiences<ref>Colvin 1947:124-125.</ref>:

"[…] I have already indicated how the early 'craze' for horseless carriages caused automobile plants to spring up like mushroom growths all over the country, just as hundreds of locomotive plants had sprung up in the early days of railroading. In both instances, however, the great majority faded out of the picture once the industry had become firmly established. As late as 1917 there were 127 different makes of American automobiles on the market, as compared with little more than a dozen in 1947 [i.e., at the time of this writing]. For the sake of the completeness of the present record, and in order to aid future scholars and research workers, I should like to give the list of American automobiles current thirty years ago [i.e., 1917]:[ ¶ ]

"Abbott-Detroit, Allen, American-Six, Anderson, Apperson, Arbenz, Auburn, Austin, Bell, Biddle, Brewster, Bour-Davis, Briscoe, Buick, Cadillac, Cameron, Case, Chalmers, Chandler, Chevrolet, Cole, Crow-Elkhart, Daniels, Davis, Detroiter, Dispatch, Dixie Flyer, Doble, Dodge, Dorris, Dort, Drexel, Elcar, Elgin, Emerson, Empire, Enger, Fiat, Ford, Fostoria, Franklin, F.R.P., Glide, Grant, Hackett, H.A.L., Halladay, Harroun, Harvard, Haynes, Hollier, Hudson, Hupmobile, Inter-State, Jackson, Jeffery, Jordan, King, Kissel, Kline, Laurel, Lenox, Lexington, Liberty, Locomobile, Lozier, Luverne, Madison, Maibohm, Majestic, Marion-Handley, Marmon, Maxwell, McFarlan, Mecca, Mercer, Metz, Mitchell, Moline-Knight, Monarch, Monitor, Monroe, Moon, Morse, Murray, National, Nelson, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Owen, Packard, Paige, Partin-Palmer, Paterson, Pathfinder, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Pilot, Premier, Princess, Pullman, Regal, Republic, Reo, Richmond, Roamer, Ross, Saxon, Scripps-Booth, Spaulding, Simplex, Singer, Standard, Stanley Steamer, Stearns-Knight, Stephens, Stewart, Studebaker, Stutz, Sun, Velie, Westcott, White, Willys-Knight, Winton, and Yale.[ ¶ ]

"A great many more names, including Brush, Duryea, Alco, Speedwell, and Waverly, had already disappeared from the scene by 1917."

Other makes not mentioned above

• Cady (Canastota, New York)
• Fort Plain (Fort Plain, New York)
• Maritime Six (St John, New Brunswick)
• McLaughlin (Oshawa, Ontario)
• Model (Peru, Indiana)
• Stoddard-Dayton (Dayton, Ohio)

See also

• Antique car
• Category:Brass Era vehicles
• Classic car
• History of the automobile
• Vintage car

References

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External links

• Brassauto.com
• Cars of Canada
• Frontenac Motors (mostly Model T)
• Horseless Carriage Gazette
• Vintage Auto Parts (has a brass section)
• Hispano-Suiza photos
• Devil-Wagon Days, by Dorothy V. Walters, the Wisconsin Magazine of History Vol. 30, September 1946, pp. 69-77